2016 brilliant amazing

The very best in social action happening in our nation

BRILLIANT AMAZING 30 ‘off the shelf’ church-based community projects inside

A must-read for all church activists in the UK today Foreword by Archbishop Justin Welby

To serve the nation

Foreword I’m enormously encouraged by all that I see churches doing to make a difference in their local communities and I’d love to see even more churches taking this step of faithful love and service. I’m very grateful to Cinnamon Network for all they are doing to help local churches set up projects to serve those most in need in their communities and hope this booklet will inspire many more churches to step out in faith and make Christ’s love visible in action.

The Most Revd Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury Acknowledgements Photograph of Archbishop Justin Welby © Andrew Dunsmore/Picture Partnership/Lambeth Palace. All other photos used courtesy of the projects and J&E Higham & Company Ltd. Cinnamon Network is extremely grateful to The Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) for producing this booklet. www.brf.org.uk

Contents Introduction..................................................................... 3 Access funding............................................................... 4 Choose a project............................................................. 5

Projects 4Family........................... 6 Baby Basics.................... 8 CAP Debt Help............. 10 CAP Job Clubs............. 12 CAP Release Groups.......................... 14 Christmas Lunch on Jesus........................ 16 Clean Sheet.................. 18 Community Money Advice.............. 20 Foodbank...................... 22 Hope Into Action......... 24 Ignition......................... 26 Link Visiting Scheme......................... 28 MakeLunch................... 30 MegaFitness................. 32

Night Shelter................

Parish Nursing.............

Passing the Baton........

Peaced Together..........

Prospects......................

Reflex............................

SPEAR...........................

Street Angels...............

Street Pastors...............

TLG Early Intervention..................

TLG Education Centres.........................

Welcome Boxes............

Who Let The Dads Out?.....................

Word 4 Weapons..........

XL Mentoring...............

34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62

Volunteer Leaders’ Training......................................... 64

Introduction In 2015, Cinnamon Network conducted a nationwide Faith Action Audit, and discovered that each year local churches and faith groups provide over £3 billion worth of social support to those most in need in their communities.

Cinnamon Network exists to make it as easy as possible for local churches—like yours—to join in.

We offer: A menu of tried and tested, off-the-peg

projects that are easy for you to replicate in your context.

Cinnamon Micro-Grants to help with the

start-up costs.

Volunteer leaders’ training courses all

around the country, so you can be sure your volunteers feel equipped, confident and supported.

In this booklet you’ll find descriptions of each of our recognised projects, information about Cinnamon

How to get started: 1) I dentify the main areas of need in your community, and prayerfully consider which God is calling you to meet.

2) L ook through this booklet to find a project that helps to address that need.

3) D iscuss it with your church leaders to get their buy-in.

4) V isit www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk to find out how to contact your chosen project.

5) O nce you’ve been approved, apply for a Cinnamon Micro-Grant.

6) Get some training, and get going!

Micro-Grants, and an introduction to our volunteer leaders’ training. We’re updating our list of recognised projects all the time, though, so do visit our website to see what’s new, as well as to watch a brief video about each project and find out how to contact them.

I hope we can help you and your local church to serve your community.

Matt Bird Founder Cinnamon Network 2

Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Access funding

Choose a project

Cinnamon Network is able to offer local churches of any Christian denomination or affiliation a micro-grant towards the costs of starting one of its recognised church-based community projects.

The following pages give you a snapshot of each Cinnamon Network recognised project. Simply pick a project off the shelf and adapt it a little for local use.

Please note that all micro-grants need to be match-funded locally in cash or in kind, which may include the value of cash, gifts in kind, premises, professional pro-bono services, asset items, or salaries, but not the value of volunteering.

Why reinvent the wheel? Starting a tried and tested community project comes with the reassurance that other churches have successfully run the project, so you know that it works.

What: ÂŁ2,000 Cinnamon Micro-Grant For: To help with the start-up costs of a recognised church-based community project Who: Local church or a group of local churches working together When: Once you have been approved by a Cinnamon Recognised Project How: www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk/ micro-grants/

Cinnamon Network church-based community projects each sit within one of four categories, noted on the project page so it is easy to see which projects support which area of community growth:

C reating safe places for children and young people S upporting safer, stronger families Building safer, stronger communities Fighting poverty We are adding more projects all the time, so do check out our website, www.cinnamonnetwork. co.uk, for the very latest information.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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4Family Project category: Supporting safer,

stronger families 4Family helps local churches to ‘help families to help themselves’. Volunteer Family Mentors are trained to work with the family by listening to them in a non-judgemental way and helping them gain the support they need to make changes, find solutions to their challenges and bring new hope into their lives.

4Family is a great tool for churches with a heart to see the tide of family breakdown turn in their community, to see children who are loved and cared for prosper and to see family relationships that are constructive instead of destructive and damaging.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Baby Basics Project category: Creating safe places

for children and young people

Baby Basics helps local churches to provide vulnerable women with essential equipment, clothing and toiletries needed for life with a new baby.

Baby Basics works closely with midwives, health visitors and other agencies to provide a safe and reliable service.

❛I had nothing and nobody, and you showed me you care about me and my baby.❜

❛ It made me feel happy;

it was like somebody cared.

❜

❛My baby must matter because the Moses basket was so full of lovely things.❜ 8

Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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CAP Debt Help Project category:

Fighting poverty

CAP Debt Help enables local churches to provide a sustainable and comprehen­ sive solution to anyone who is dealing with unmanageable debt. The service is tailored to meet the needs of the poorest and most marginalised in society. CAP Debt Help offers a combination of professional debt management, financial education and face-to-face support and encouragement.

debt help

❛ Debt felt like a noose around our necks.

It was a huge relief to know we weren’t judged and had support from CAP.❜

❛ To ask for help

was the hardest but the best decision I made. Now I am clearing my debt and saving too.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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CAP Job Clubs

❛ I was scared stiff about going, but they made me feel really welcome. I go every week and they are now like my family!❜

Project category:

Fighting poverty

CAP Job Clubs enable local churches to help people step into work, even after years of unemployment. The eightweek interactive Steps to Employment Course, covering topics such as identifying strengths, CV writing, and interview techniques, is an easy and effective way for churches to practically equip club members, in a supportive environment that boosts confidence and morale.

job clubs

❛ When other people believe in you, it helps you to

believe in yourself. CAP Job Clubs are friendly, fun and enjoyable. You really feel cared about as a person.

❜

Through CAP Job Clubs, your church can create a community that demonstrates God’s love in a relevant way.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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CAP Release Groups

❛ It’s helped me to

Project category: Supporting safer,

stronger families

❛ For the first time in 15 years, I have

control over my addiction! I really feel like freedom is a reality I can grasp.

❜

understand why I turned to addiction.

I gave myself six months to give up drinking but did it in three! I’d recommend a CAP Release Group to anyone.

❜

CAP Release Groups empower local churches to help people break free from life-controlling habits such as drinking, smoking, gambling or internet addictions. The release group provides a place of trust and security, where people are offered emotional and practical support to tackle their dependency head on.

CAP provides full training for managers, coaches and befrienders, as well as ongoing support from the head office team.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Christmas Lunch on Jesus Project category:

❛ Hi, just emailing to say thank you so much

for our Christmas hamper. Times have been hard over the past few years and these hampers are very much appreciated.

❜

Fighting poverty Christmas Lunch on Jesus helps local churches to make Christmas hampers available to members of the community who are in desperate need at Christmas time. The hampers are packed with Christmas goodies including a turkey, stuffing, carrots, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, gravy, Christmas pudding, chocolates and non-alcoholic wine.

❛Hi, just emailing to say thank you so much

for our Christmas hamper. Times have been hard over the past few years and these hampers are very much appreciated.

❜

❛Many thanks for the Christmas hamper, the

contents are beautiful. This has made my Christmas very special. It has given me the chance to have dinner with some people who have helped me tremendously.

❜

any thanks for the Christmas hamper, the ❛ Mcontents are beautiful. This has made my

Christmas very special. It has given me the chance to have dinner with some people who have helped me tremendously.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Clean Sheet Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities Clean Sheet helps local churches to offer a threestep pathway from prison to employment. Clean Sheet enables a local church team to lead employability training sessions in prisons, to help ex-offenders join a job club on release, and to provide an employers’ directory of organisations who actively consider ex-offenders for work.

Ex-offenders who find work are up to 50 per cent less likely to reoffend.

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❛ Since leaving prison, Clean Sheet gave me the confidence to start my own business and keep going, so that I can get into a position to help other people with the same problems.

❜

❛ Clean Sheet was a turning point in my life.

It showed me that obstacles can be stepping stones to the next open door. Since leaving prison I have grasped every opportunity.

❜

Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Community Money Advice Project category:

❛ Thanks for all your help and support this year. Don’t know what we would have done without you.❜

Fighting poverty Community Money Advice helps local churches with a vision to help people in debt to establish local money advice centres. Driven by the desire to help people whose lives are being blighted by debt and money problems, CMA is able to offer a wide range of support services

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while training each adviser to work along­side clients, to help end their indebted­ness and, crucially, teaching them how to manage their money and stay out of debt in the future.

❛ Thank you more than I could ever express for all you have done.❜

Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Foodbank Project category:

Fighting poverty

21-year-old Charlotte hadn’t eaten properly for weeks when she was referred to the foodbank. She says,

❛ The foodbank made an impact in every way possible.❜

Trussell Trust foodbanks help local churches to provide emergency food and support to people in crisis. For people on low incomes, a sudden crisis such as redundancy, benefit delay or an unexpected bill can mean going hungry. Non-perishable food is donated by the public and then volunteers sort and pack food into emergency food parcels. Frontline care professionals provide vouchers to people in crisis which can then be exchanged for at least three days’ worth of food. he foodbank saved our ❛ Tlives.

I don’t know where

we would be without them.

The emotional support that we’ve received is almost as good as the food.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Hope Into Action Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities

❛ Thank you for helping. Before I came to the house I was living in a slum, surrounded by dodgy people—you have helped me turn my life around.

❜

Hope Into Action helps local churches provide houses for the homeless.

It provides training to enable local churches to engage with and mentor those living in the house, while providing the necessary professional support.

❛ Upon release, many offenders have

nowhere to go and no one to meet them at the gate. This project provides them with a home, a community and, for those of faith, a church family. It also reduces their likelihood of reoffending.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Ignition Project category:

Fighting poverty

❛ I needed support with literacy and

IT skills, and with individual help my skills and confidence increased. I have been accepted on a course and now search for jobs on my own.

❜

Ignition helps local churches to support local unemployed people to improve their job search, application and interview skills.

We let you choose the format that works for you; it could be a seven-week course, an ongoing job club or any other set-up that matches your church’s skills and availability.

We will provide you with training, support and resources to help people get a job that is right for them.

❛ I went to Ignition for three months, got an interview with a care agency and secured long-term work!❜

❛ Without the support of

Ignition, I would not have a CV or be able to apply for jobs. You have given me hope again!

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Link Visiting Scheme Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities The Link Visiting Scheme helps local churches to run a unique befriending service aimed at isolated older people. The main focus is on arranging for volunteers to carry out home visits once a week for around one hour. They also run other social activities including computer courses, bowls clubs and singing groups. This simple approach is often a real lifeline for those in the community who rarely have contact with the outside world.

visitor says she doesn’t mind talking about the ❛ My old days or looking at my photos. I didn’t think younger people would be interested, and it’s wonderful to make a new friend even at my age!

❜

❛ When my wife died, I felt

completely lost. Meeting my visitor helped me find my feet again and gave me something to look forward to each week.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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MakeLunch Project category: Creating safe places

for children and young people

❛ When you’re faced with six weeks of school

holiday you find yourself stuck for things to do. Lunch makes a real difference; we can come down here and get great food, which my daughter loves as she’s always hungry.

❜

if nobody comes ❛ Even sometimes, please keep

doing this—it’s important.

❜

MakeLunch helps local churches to provide meals during the holidays for children who would otherwise go hungry because free school dinners are only available during school term time.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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MegaFitness Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities

❛ The strong, trustworthy friendships I have

gained from MegaFitness have helped me through a recent bereavement. The emotional and practical support has kept me sane and pressures have lifted off me in the classes.

❜

MegaFitness helps local churches to run community fitness programmes. MegaFitness benefits the whole person and is for all ages, from toddlers to 90s. Many people admit they need exercise, so MegaFitness offers a safe and fun alternative to competitive, imagedriven gyms.

love the fun at ❛ IMegaFitness, having a

laugh and making friends.

Without pressure, it has improved my physical health and wellbeing.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Night Shelter Project category:

Building safer, stronger communities

❛ The Shelter was not just a helping hand but was totally fundamental to me getting back on my feet. It provided independence that relying on friends and family does not. I cannot thank everyone enough.

❜

Night Shelter helps local churches to offer vulnerable rough sleepers nightly accommodation during the winter period. A different local church acts as host each night, offering a place of safety, a hot meal, a dry place to sleep and breakfast in the morning.

After training, help and support can be given to guests to assist them in finding more permanent accommodation.

❛ I was made to feel welcome and it became

my home straight away. A bed to sleep in, and the best food ever with great support. A little slice of heaven when I needed it most.

❜

❛ I couldn’t see how things would ever

change, but I feel more hopeful now.

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❜

Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Parish Nursing Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities Parish Nursing helps local churches to appoint nurses, who in turn support people and communities towards whole-person healthcare. This is care for the person’s overall wellbeing, incorporating body, mind and spirit.

All Parish Nurses are registered nurses and are appointed or employed through a local church.

❛ Our Parish Nurse has been here for everyone, in

sickness, health, death. Any issue you’d like to name, be it trouble, strife, changing people’s lives, our Parish Nurse has made such a difference.

❜

a huge debt of gratitude to ❛ Iouroweparish nurse, who supported me immensely when I had to face up to a potentially life-threatening situation.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Passing the Baton Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities

❛ Rosy accepted me as I am and

has never judged me. I have felt genuinely accepted for who I am and that has helped build my self-confidence hugely.

❜

Passing the Baton helps local churches to support formerly homeless or vulnerable people to resettle and integrate into local communities. It delivers training to churches in order to provide a befriending service to individuals and families to combat loneliness and isolation.

❛ I am able to be myself with my befriender.

I feel that I am back to being the original me, and able to leave behind the worry of how I come across to others.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Peaced Together Project category: Supporting safer,

stronger families

Peaced Together helps local churches to run creative arts courses that help women find hope and wholeness. Using a variety of themed craft projects, it encourages participants to reflect on their lives and set out on a personal journey from brokenness to hope. It particularly benefits women who find themselves isolated, depressed or victims of abuse. The course consists of five craft projects which help the group explore topics such as beauty, thankfulness and positive choices.

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❛Peaced Together opened my eyes

to forgive myself and people around me. As soon as I chose to forgive, my life started to change for the better.

❜

❛Peaced Together

has helped me to look again at the broken areas of my life and find fresh hope for the future.

❜

Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Prospects Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities

Prospects helps local churches to enrich their communities by equipping them to reach out the hand of friendship to adults with learning disabilities. Prospects offers advice, training and resources to churches interested in

❛ Prospects allows Wayne to worship,

progress and develop in his journey of faith just the same way as you and I do.

❜

befriending and reaching vulnerable people who are so often side­lined by society, so that they are welcomed, accepted and included in a safe and appropriate way into the life of the church.

❛ Seeing adults with learning disabilities, profound disabilities, and their expression of their love for Jesus, I felt humbled.❜ 42

Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Reflex Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities

❛ While I’ve been doing Reflex I realised I needed to be acting better, for my own sake, and not doing what other people want me to.

❜

Reflex helps local churches to work with young offenders (aged 15–24), providing educational courses that unlock potential and develop character, skills and confidence. Young people have the highest re-conviction rate of all offenders and most are trapped in a never-ending cycle of offending and reoffending.

up was hard. All I got was beatings ❛ Gandrowing abuse. I ended up in prison. Reflex helped me to see the person I could be.❜ 44

Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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SPEAR Project category:

Fighting poverty

Spear helps local churches to overcome social challenges through enabling young people to get into employment.

It equips young people with the hard skills they need to find a job, including CV writing and interview training. The project also tackles the attitudinal and behavioural issues that employers cite as major barriers to long-term success in their young recruits. 75% of those who graduate from Spear are in work or education a year after completing the course.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Street Angels Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities

❛ Just to say that Street Angels is amazing— one night I was given free flip-flops and water when I was in a really dangerous situation, very drunk a few months ago!

❜

Street Angels help local churches to address the needs of the night-time economy. This includes meeting people around clubs and pubs; caravans offering tea, coffee and hope; youth work focusing on alcohol and safety; as well as work with homeless people and within red-light districts.

know how I would have ❛ Igotdon’t home that night if it hadn’t been for Street Angels. Very much appreciated.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Street Pastors Project category:

Building safer, stronger communities

❛ Our non-judgemental presence

on the streets brings about a real sense of pastoral care to folk who are out late at night.

❜

Street Pastors help local churches respond to antisocial behaviour in town and city centres. Street Pastors look out for, listen to, talk with and care for people who have set out for a good night out but find themselves in a place of vulnerability. It has seen some remarkable results, including drops in crime in areas where teams have been working.

pastors are often the last people to go ❛ Street home. Parents who are out in town socialising

often say they are so glad we are here because their young people are out in the clubs.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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TLG Project category: Creating

safe places for children and young people

❛ Now it’s different. If something goes wrong, I

just walk away and play with someone else, and I don’t get into trouble and it all stops. I’m excited to go to secondary school now.

❜

Early Intervention TLG Early Intervention helps churches provide one-to-one coaching for children who are struggling to cope with school life or at risk of exclusion. By spending an hour a week alongside a primary or secondary aged child, coaches help a child make sense of their experiences, enable personal growth and ensure they feel valued.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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TLG Project category: Creating

safe places for children and young people

❛ TLG Intervention has given me ideas I can

use at home to help Ben with his behaviour in school. Summing up the experience for me?

It’s been a godsend. An absolute miracle.

❜

Education Centres TLG Education Centres are small churchrun schools for young people at a crisis point in their education. The centres help those who are often found truanting, caught up in negative peer groups and at risk of getting sucked into the criminal justice system.

The centres provide both pastoral support and formal education to help reintegrate these young people back into mainstream education or further training.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Welcome Boxes Project category: Building safer,

stronger communities

Welcome Boxes helps local churches to reach out to refugees newly arriving in their area. By giving families a box containing small gifts and local information, volunteers can begin to build bridges and relationships with people at a vulnerable time in their lives. A Welcome Box may seem small but it means so much more than the gifts inside. It helps newly arrived families and individuals feel valued and accepted and extends a hand of welcome and friendship in the neighbourhood.

❛It was a box

with magic. It gave access to many open doors.

I met many good people and made a few nice friendships.

❜ ❛I am alone in

this country with no mother, father, brother or sister. When I met you everything changed; you became my brothers and sisters.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Who Let The Dads Out? Project category: Supporting safer,

❛ Who Let The Dads Out? has given me time and opportunities to interact with other dads, meet new friends and share activities with my son.❜

stronger families Who Let The Dads Out? helps local churches to establish projects that give dads, father figures and their children the opportunity to spend fun time together and provide resources to support dads in their fathering role. Traditional weekday parent and toddler groups are highly successful but reach relatively few fathers.

Who Let The Dads Out? is meeting a growing demand for male-focused family support.

❛Who Let The Dads Out? has given me time

and opportunities to interact with other dads, meet new friends and share activities with my son.

❜

❛I am more confident with Tallula; there is

more trust between us. Our relationship has improved and we enjoy giving mum a break.

❜

am more confident ❛ Iwith Tallula; there is

more trust between us.

Our relationship has improved and we enjoy giving mum a break.

❜

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Find out more at 59 www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

Word 4 Weapons Project category:

Supporting safer, stronger families Word 4 Weapons helps local churches to counteract knife and gun crime in their communities. It extends a motivational weapon awareness programme to schools and youth organisations, as well as providing weapon bins for the safe, anonymous disposal of weapons. Weapons are collected in secure bins, then melted down into key-shaped Award Medals and presented to individuals in recognition of the positive changes they have made in their lives or communities.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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XL Mentoring Project category: Creating safe

spaces for children and young people XL Mentoring helps local churches create positive futures for young people growing up on deprived inner city estates. These are areas that experience high levels of antisocial behaviour, criminality and gang activity, and young residents often struggle daily with issues such as family breakdown, poverty, unemployment and educational failure. has helped me to build ❛ Mmyy mentor confidence, choose the right ways and to believe in myself— she has helped me a lot.

❜

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

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Volunteer Leaders’ Training

About Cinnamon Network

Cinnamon Network offers regional training for volunteer leaders throughout the year.

Cinnamon Network is a partnership between churches of all denominations and affiliations, charities offering church-based community projects, civic organisations such as the police and local authorities and grantmakers. We are passionate about:

The training is not for ‘experts’, neither is it limited to churches running Cinnamon recognised projects, but is open to everyone: from social activists to volunteer leaders and anyone who wants to find out more about how to effectively mobilise others within their local church.

The course is run by professional trainers, each with a breadth of training experience. The material is designed with a variety of learning preferences in mind in order to maximise group learning, mutual encouragement and up-skilling.

You can find out more at: www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk/cvt

1. Jesus—We are faith-based but not faith-biased in that we are motivated by Jesus to serve people of all faiths and none.

2. The local church—We work through local churches to deliver community projects.

3. Relationships—We value trust-based relationships and partnerships as the basis for successful working.

4. Professionalism—We are committed to quality, excellence and best practice.

5. Transformation—We are passionate about the holistic wellbeing of individuals, families and communities.

6. Simplicity— We prefer simple approaches whilst recognising that social needs are multiple and complex.

7. Speed and scale—We believe in responding quickly, efficiently and at scale to urgent social need.

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Find out more at www.cinnamonnetwork.co.uk

Cinnamon Network is making it as easy as possible for local churches to serve those people most in need in their communities.

This booklet provides information about brilliant church-based community projects and the funding to help start them.

â?›I hope this booklet will inspire many

more churches to step out in faith and make Christ’s love visible in action.

�

The Most Revd Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury

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